The semiconductor industry has contributed 7.8% of Singapore's GDP and supported 35% of the manufacturing workforce. Despite the industry facing a slowdown made worse by prolonged trade tension between US and China, the automotive semiconductor market is going to be a key driver for the semiconductor industry - expected to expand from US$37.4 billion (S$51.5 billion) in 2017 to over US$58.5 billion in 2023. This growth is fuelled by advancement in technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and automobiles.
"Embracing the Mobility Transformation" was the theme of the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA) Summit 2019, where nine speakers from different companies and agencies including National Research Foundation, Micron, Infineon Technologies, Soitec, Xilinx, A*STAR's Institute of Microelectronics, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, National Instruments and Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, shared insights on the mobility trends, and the paradigm shift in quality mindset required for the mobility business transformation.
There was also a panel discussion on "Technologies that will shape the future of mobility" where representatives from SSIA, CapitaLand, Asia Mobility Industries, TPG Telecom Pte Ltd and Soitec discussed on how different technologies like AI and 5G will enable fully autonomous vehicles in Singapore and the region.
Over 450 delegates from over 70 companies attended the annual flagship SSIA Summit and dinner. Ang Wee Seng, executive director, SSIA, said in his opening speech, "Getting into the automotive semiconductor business isn't as easy as one might imagine. Zero Defects, the comprehensive automotive quality control, can't be achieved by simply setting up a system or solution in the company. It can only be achieved by a paradigm shift in quality mindset and needs to be built into the core values of the business and starts with the company's leadership."
The event ended with a gala dinner, the Semiconductor Dinner, with Damian Chan, assistant managing director of EDB, as the guest of honour. This year's dinner carried the theme "Fostering Talents for Tomorrow". SSIA also signed an MOU with NTUC LearningHub to collaborate on initiatives to upskill and upgrade the workforce for future industry needs.
SSIA has been working closely with different agencies such as WSG and e2i to help companies in talent recruitment, development and retention. Andrew Chong, Chairman of SSIA, said in his speech at the dinner, "Having the right business strategy or investment cannot make a business successful without the right people to execute. It's now a challenging time for the industry, but it is also the right time to invest in our workforce and keep our talents."
